Use of devices for the therapeutic or diagnostic aspiration of fluid or air from the thoracic or abdominal cavities is known in the art. The aspiration of fluid or air from the thoracic or abdominal cavities is desirable in relieving symptoms caused by fluid or air build up in such cavities. Drainage catheters are also used to supply physicians with samples from the thoracic or abdominal cavities for analysis. Generally, drainage catheters employ a catheter needle, a needle hub, a stop cock, and a self-sealing valve. The catheter is permanently bonded to the stop cock, and the stop cock is permanently bonded to the self-sealing valve.
Devices of the prior art, however, are not suitable for use as a long-term drainage catheters because of the weight and bulk of the device. Thus, physicians are required to use multiple drainage catheters because of the failure of prior devices to act as long-term drainage devices.
What would thus be advantageous would be to provide a catheter which was suitable for use for the therapeutic or diagnostic aspiration of fluid or air from the thoracic or abdominal cavities. The device would additionally be capable of use as a long term drainage catheter. Such a design would achieve the advantages without significantly adding cost.